my name is jessica
by mystiqueiacreator1
Summary: an animorphs fanfiction. jessica, a 14 year old loner and fraidy-cat, finds herself captured by the yeerks. She forms a friendship with takat falrin, a hork-bajir seer also in captivity. can they escape the yeerks together? and if they can, what will they do next?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One  
My name is Jessica. I can't tell you my last name. Because there are people looking for me.  
No. Not people. They aren't people anymore...  
There are _creatures _looking for me. And if they ever find me, I'll be better off dead, anyway. But I should probably start from the beginning.  
I was walking in the forest. It was dusk. I was completely alone, as usual. I guess that was my first mistake.  
I had gotten cocky and decided to cut through the woods on my way home, instead of taking the path. That was my second mistake.  
I curse my stupidity now, looking back, because in hindsight it would have been easy to prevent what happened next.  
I began to hear voices. Deep, growly voices, but human voices as well. And voices that sounded more like hissing and screeching than anything else. Curious, I crept closer, wanting to make out words. It was unusual for anyone to be deep in the woods at this hour. I overheard the following conversation:  
"What are my orders, Visser?" A teenage boy's voice inquired.  
_What's a visser? _I wondered in confusion.  
"Starsin 689, you are to befriend the young humans of this neighborhood and convince them to join the sharing. We're still on the lookout for...well, you know. If you can't do that, at least get them back here. We will take care of the rest." A deep voice growled. No human sounded like that.  
"Yes, Sir. Understood, Sir."  
_Starsin 689? What's that, a spy name? _I thought to myself. I had heard about the sharing, but since I had no friends, I felt no motivation to join up. _Do they have to _force _people to join now?_  
The prospect of a group being that desperate made me chuckle. That was my third, and definitely worst, mistake.  
"What was that?" The deep voice snarled. There was the sound of something big moving through the undergrowth. The thing stepped out in front of me. I screamed, all laughter gone.  
It was _definitely _not a human. It was about eight feet tall, and looked like a combination between a hawk and a dragon. It had legs that were bent back, and it had big taloned feet, a bit like a T-rex. It had two very muscular arms, and a long, strong tail lay out behind it. It had a beak, and a snake-like neck. Its eyes were hard and glittered gold. But the worst part was that its whole body was covered in razor-sharp blades. The blades ran down its arms and legs, down its back and tail, and it had three large forward-swept blades on its head.  
The creature seemed to snarl when it saw me and clenched its hands into fists. "What the..." It rumbled. And then it reached forward to grab me.  
I was frozen, screaming, unable to move. There was no way I could run, I was too scared. So I put all my fear into my voice. I screamed so loud I started getting hoarse. The creature picked me up easily, holding me under one arm, and covering my mouth with its free hand. "Shut up, human girl."  
I was carried into the clearing, still unable to move. I felt tears streaming down my face. It was going to kill me. I knew it.  
"What's this, Visser? An Andalite spy, possibly?" The human voice said. It had taken the form of a teenage boy, maybe a year or two older than me. He had fairly short brown hair and a cold look in his big, dark green eyes. And, I'll admit, he was extremely cute. But that didn't matter to me, now. The sight of a human face, any human face, was enough to shut me up.  
Half crying, I appealed to the boy. "Help me...please help me..." I whimpered.  
I fixed my eyes on his, and for a second, his face twitched. The cold expression switched to desperation, and his hands jerked, like they were trying to reach for me. But then he shook himself and clenched his fists, and was back to normal. I was unnerved. What had I just seen?  
"Let me go..." I moaned.  
"I'm afraid you've seen too much, human," The boy said, harshly.  
_Human? But he's human too...isn't he? _  
"We'll have to take you..." He smiled in a disturbing way and chuckled slightly. "My host is making quite a fuss about you. I think he finds you appealing in some way. And he's worried and scared for you."  
_What? Host? He sounds like a talking...parasite..._  
And I couldn't help but do a mental check through my features, sad as that is. I wasn't all that remarkable, just long, straight ginger hair and icy gray eyes.  
"Host? What _are _you?" I whispered.  
The creature holding me captive answered. "You'll see, won't you, little girl?"  
They took me over to a huge tree and typed some kind of pass code into a hidden keypad. The tree, to my surprise, slid to the side, revealing an underground passage. They took me into it, walking down a long flight of stairs. I was getting more and more terrified, because I began hearing screams and crying. Some human, some not, but they gave me chills. There are no words to describe the agony and despair reflected in those wails.  
We came out into a huge cavern. In the center was a giant pool of what seemed to be gray sludge. It moved and frothed like a bunch of things were writhing below the surface. Surrounding the pool were cages. Many, many cages. They were filled with creatures similar to the one carrying me, and lots and lots of humans. They were the cause of the screams. On one side of the pool, a sort of dock jutted out, and there was a line of people and creatures being dragged, also screaming, to the edge, where their heads were thrust under the surface. When they came back up, they walked calmly away, like nothing had happened. On the other side, there was another process going on, seeming like the opposite. They would come up and put their heads close to the water, and then when they stood up they started to struggle and were dragged away to cages. I was put into the first line, and I began to panic again. What was that water doing to them?  
"It'll all be over soon..." The human boy crooned in a silky, menacing voice.  
"What are you going to do to me? What's going on? What's in that pool?" I shrieked, eyes fixed on the water.  
"You'll know soon," my captor growled. "Don't worry."  
I went all too quickly through the line. And when it was my turn, my head was also thrust under the murky water. I felt something slimy brush against the side of my head, then push its way into my ear. I was lifted from the water, coughing, spluttering, and screaming.  
There was something crawling down the inside of my ear. It felt numb, not painful, but oh, it felt _wrong. _This shouldn't be happening! And then my world _really _fell apart.  
I found that I could no longer move my own body. My screams were cut off abruptly. I couldn't even move my eyes on my own, breathe on my own. My mind was the only thing left in my control. So I screamed inside my head.  
No! No! Help! Help me!  
Hush, now, Jessica...It's pointless to struggle. A strange voice soothed in my head. I couldn't quite tell if it was male or female, but I settled on male. I'm in control of you now. I have access to every memory...every thought...every feeling...  
What _are _you? Get out of my head! I wailed, feeling hysterical. Why are you doing this to me?  
Please, don't be so upset...it's unnerving. I am sorry you don't appreciate being a host, but that's not my problem. The voice said. My name is Extass 135. My species is called Yeerks.  
You're just an alien parasite, aren't you? Why should I listen to you? I'm going to scream all I want to! I yelled, but I didn't.  
Smart girl. Yes, I am a parasite. But it doesn't bother me if you scream.  
I hate you! I _hate you! _I screamed, and cried silently.  
Such fear...No reason for it. I'm not going to hurt you, you know.  
I just cried, and the Yeerk sighed.  
Fine, be silent. I know it's hard the first time. You'll get used to it. They all do...  
The Yeerk made me stand and turn to my captors. "I'm in control now. She put up no fight. She's just petrified." I said, but it wasn't me saying it.  
"My host is crying," The human said, almost mockingly. "Silly, isn't it? He blames himself for what happened to this girl."  
My voice laughed. "Yes, very. These humans are strange."  
I retreated into my head, feeling numb. I hate you...


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two  
Extass took us home. I stayed silent, but I felt so miserable and defeated that if I _had _been in control of myself, I probably would have just curled up in a ball on the floor and stayed there. Anyway, my Yeerk walked me through the door of my house, and sat me at the table to eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for dinner. My mom was at work, as usual.  
After that, he took me to my room, got my teeth brushed, hair combed, and PJs on, and went to bed. He didn't sleep, though. He rooted through my memories, studying, and learning. And he took me with him through it. I watched, powerless to stop him. Extass went through memories I had totally forgotten about. And unfortunately, most were bad. I didn't have many good ones, since nothing good ever really happened to me.  
I was in school. I was the new girl. I saw myself at my locker, taking books out. As I began to walk away, though, somebody tripped me up and I fell flat on my face, books flying. Everybody started laughing, and I blushed as I scrambled to pick up my supplies. No one offered to help me. Typical.  
I was at home, curled on the couch. All alone, again. My mother walked in.  
"Hi, Mom! Good day at work?" I tried. I got only a grunt in reply. She walked right on past me, straight up to her room. She barely even acknowledged that I was there. "I...okay...goodnight, then..." And I curled back up on the couch, bitterly disappointed.  
And of course, one of my worst memories now, I saw myself captured by the creature~  
It's called a hork-bajir. The Yeerk informed me, reading my thoughts.  
Like I care...  
The memories stopped. You haven't had the best life, have you, Jess? Extass remarked, almost sympathetically.  
Jess? I repeated, trying to change the subject.  
Yes, Jess. You haven't answered my question. I felt him chuckle. But you don't need to, anyway.  
I started crying again. Why do you care? Just leave me alone...  
This time, I think I did feel pity coming from the Yeerk. Oh, hush, Jess. You cry far too much. He soothed, closing my eyes. Go to sleep. I won't play any more memories. Not now, anyway.  
I felt suspicious. You're just playing nice to get me to stop annoying you!  
Even if that were true... The Yeerk said, craftily. Nobody's been exactly _nice _to you before anyway. If I'm not mistaken, I'm the first.  
I whimpered. He was right.

The next few days passed in a blur. My whole existence had become a nightmare. I didn't even pay attention to my surroundings anymore, but I was shocked into alertness when I realized one day that we were heading back to the Yeerk pool.  
What are you doing? Don't take me back there! Please! I'll do anything! I screamed, in panic.  
Cut it out, Jess. I have to go back. It won't take too long, only a couple of hours. And then we'll leave. Extass replied, calmly.  
I was taken to the other dock this time, and the line passed quicker. I was soon at the end. Extass knelt down and turned my head toward the water. I was disgusted as I felt him crawling out of my ear, and saw him fall into the pool. I gagged.  
_I gagged. _Me. I was in control of myself again! But the hork-bajir standing on either side of me quickly grabbed me and dragged me toward the cages. "No! Please, no! I don't want to be here! Let me go!" I thrashed around, but it was no use. They threw me into a cage amongst a bunch of hork-bajir, closed the door, and left.  
"No..." I whispered. I looked up, terrified. Why would they do this? Putting me into a cage with a bunch of bladed _monsters? _It was like being thrown into a lion's den! They'd rip me to pieces!  
But...no...they just watched me. A few were crying. I saw one cuddling another, smaller one, trying to comfort it. A few just watched me with tired eyes. And one, about my size, approached me, slowly.  
"What...What are you going to do to me...?" My voice was hoarse from lack of use.  
"My name is Takat Falrin. I'm not going to hurt you. What is your name?" it said.  
"I'm Jessica..." I muttered, confused. "Takat...Fall...rin..."  
The creature made a face I thought could be a smile. "Call me Takat. These are my family and friends," He motioned toward the other hork-bajir. "They won't hurt you either."  
Another hork-bajir, an adult, nodded in our direction. "Me Takat father. Name Jaris. Welcome,"  
I was confused. "Why does...your father...talk like that?" I whispered to Takat.  
He laughed. "Oh, that's normal for my people. I'm the different one. We aren't normally that...well, smart. I'm a seer. Every now and then one is born who is smarter than the others. We're rare." He smiled again, sitting next to me. "Want to be friends, Jessica?"  
"I...okay...I guess..." I agreed. I suppose it was a little strange that my first friend would be a bladed alien lizard-man, but I was desperate for company.  
"Great! I~"  
"So you have a Yeerk, too?" I interrupted.  
"Oh," Takat visibly deflated and avoided my eyes. "Yes. We all do."  
"How did they capture you?"  
"I was born in captivity. I don't know anything different. I was infested as soon as I was old enough to be of use. What about you?"  
"Me? I...I stumbled across them in the woods...and they took me because I knew too much..." I bit my lip. I would _not _cry again.  
"I...I'm really sorry, Jessica," my new friend whispered. He patted my back, trying to comfort me. "I wish there was something I could do."  
Despite the fact that he was covered in blades, I leaned against him, suddenly cold. He put his arm around me, careful not to scratch me.  
"I hope we see each other again soon," I remarked. "You're really nice, for an alien."  
"I'll take that as a compliment," Takat chuckled.


End file.
